U.S. Senator Cory Booker gave a $559,000 check to Liberty Science Center (LSC) on Tuesday. The money will be used to implement a portable planetarium project. Jersey City’s facility plans…
U.S. Senator Cory Booker gave a $559,000 check to Liberty Science Center (LSC) on Tuesday. The money will be used to implement a portable planetarium project. Jersey City’s facility plans to mount the mobile unit on two vehicles and bring astronomy and Earth sciences programs to students across New Jersey.
Paul Hoffman, president and CEO, accepted the funding at a ceremony that began at 1:30 p.m. The center operates the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.
“This very generous grant to our center for the new portable planetarium programming is a sterling manifestation of his commitment to ensure that countless thousands of children across New Jersey can experience the same wonders of science that he did and continues to have,” said Hoffman, according to  NorthJersey.com. Hoffman praised Booker for backing science education and space exploration. The senator has worked for years to make scientific experiences available to young people throughout the state.
Federal dollars will also pay for recruiting, hiring, and training new planetarium educators, who will deliver offsite programs. The money helps develop classroom workshops too.
Other events at the Liberty Science Center include one on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. This will be LSC After Dark’s first-ever Jellyfish Rave, also called the Bikini Bottom Bash. Attendees over 21 will watch a SpongeBob laser show and view the blood moon lunar eclipse around midnight. This event marks the debut of LSC After Dark’s themed celebration.
Three showings of a live Eclipse Show will let planetarium educators preview the lunar event and explain why cosmic occurrences happen. Laser shows scored by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album will play throughout the evening. Dr. Seven Rasmussen, an astrophysicist, will give a free Space Talk about the possibilities of life in the cosmos.
Tickets for the LSC Jellyfish Rave on Aug. 27 start at $24. You can book them online at LSC.org/lsc-after-dark.
Download the app to LISTEN LIVE wherever you are and connect with us like never before!